by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Six months ago, Mark Gruszecki was president of the Business Development Corporation of Northeast Florida and the Jacksonville Economic Development Company’s (JEDCO) impending privatization — actually a split from the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission— was floundering in City Council committees.
In a sense, Gruszecki was floundering, too; not because of a bureaucracy, but because of the miles of red tape he was having to negotiate in order to help a small business get a loan.
While Gruszecki acknowledges tremendous success while with BDC, he also admits there was growing frustration with the economic development engine that serviced 10 local counties. Not only did he find himself traveling an extraordinary amount, Gruszecki found it tough to help businesses when the rules changed from county to county.
Today, things are vastly different. JEDCO is just a technicality or two away from being a totally private entity and Gruszecki is its first president as a private company. For the Chicago native, joining JEDCO was a logical move and ascribes to the odd theory that sometimes less is more.
“It’s almost a captive market,” said Gruszecki.
With only one county to focus on, an enormous supply of built-in customers and little to no red tape, Gruszecki finds himself and JEDCO in an optimal position. And, at one point he wanted BDC to be a part of the process.
“I approached JEDCO to do a merger with us,” explained Gruszecki. “We were two companies doing the same thing with the same goals. I figured, why compete? I tried to complete the merger, but it was too frustrating because there are two boards that couldn’t see eye-to-eye.”
JEDCO’s and Gruszecki’s main goal is to help small- and medium-sized businesses expand in every facet and succeed where, perhaps, they once struggled. Although a start-up business is certainly welcome to apply for what’s known as Small Business Administration 504 fixed-rate financing, JEDCO will specialize in revitalizing existing businesses and neighborhoods.
“The idea is to come to us with pretty heavy credentials,” said Gruszecki. “We like businesses two years and older that are looking to expand but we will not say no to a guy or a girl with a solid start-up idea.”
One of the beauties of going private is that JEDCO can accomplish in just weeks or even days what used to take months. Under JEDC guidelines, a small business wishing to expand had to get approval from the Downtown Development Authority, often the DDA Design Review Committee, the JEDC and, ultimately, City Council. Now, with good credit and a legitimate plan, things are much quicker.
“We can get a deal done within 30 days,” said Gruszecki. “If we can’t get the deal done within 30 days, we can’t do the deal. But we will find someone that can. If their credit is good, I can get on the phone to the bank and have them approved within 72 hours.”
What makes JEDCO so efficient now are several things. One, they are a direct lender of the federal government without the red tape. Two, Gruszecki has a small but talented and experienced staff dedicated to JEDCO, its mission statement and revitalizing areas of town and ethnic groups traditionally ignored, and three, technology has simply made life easier.
“We offer low-interest loans that come with fixed rates and long terms. That helps insure the repayment ability and vital to these businesses going forward,” said Gruszecki. “Plus, we have eliminated a lot of the paperwork. We use state-of-the-art technology and we can prequalify someone by phone in minutes.”
From his office on the Southbank, Gruszecki can look north, past the office towers, to find glut of future customers. That’s not to say a small business on the Southside isn’t eligible for JEDCO assistance, it’s just that Gruszecki has identified a sector of town to concentrate on first. Once he has revitalized that area to his satisfaction, he and JEDCO will focus elsewhere.
“We will serve all of Duval County, but what I think is tradition is that the Northside is under served,” said Gruszecki. “That’s my opinion four weeks into the front door. I think I’m going to get a lot more done [than with BDC]. I’m going to put a lot of money on the streets.”